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Prednisone

Posted , 11 users are following.

amykuhl1977
amykuhl1977

Doc is starting me on prednisone. Anyone have any feedback? Likes/dislikes?

0 likes, 20 replies

20 Replies

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  • tony09890
    tony09890 amykuhl1977

    Posted

    Stay away from prednisone, once on prednisone it takes a long, long time to get off and in my experience it does not help at all.
  • vickiann49
    vickiann49 amykuhl1977

    Posted

    Doc just started me on it to...last night it made me feel dizzy. I don't like what I read about it but I need something I hurt so bad sad
  • shabarr
    shabarr amykuhl1977

    Posted

    It works great for my pain, but I'm really emotional when im on it. When I was taking higher doses (60mg) my blood sugars were high. I was on it for 5 weeks and didn't have a hard time going off of it. Even though it works for pain, I'd prefer not to be on it because of the side effects.
  • Buckeyes
    Buckeyes amykuhl1977

    Posted

    Completely got rid if my pain!  Felt like I had a broken arm the pain was so bad!  Unfortunately I put on 30 pounds!  I couldn't get enough to eat!  I was always hungry!  Thought when I quit taking it the pounds would come off but no such luck!  I was overweight to begin with now I'm prediabetic!  Try not to be on it long term!

    Good luck!

  • tony09890
    tony09890 amykuhl1977

    Posted

    If you get no releif with a couple of weeks stop taking them.   Long term use (2 weeks +) causes all sorts of problems the least of which is getting off them.   Check out the PMR group on patientinfo.
  • frances85589
    frances85589 amykuhl1977

    Posted

    I have been on 10mg day for over 4 years.still can't get well enough to reduce it thou but I was terrible before going on it so it's my life saver.I need to take Calcichew-D3 Forte for bones as long term use steroids can effect them.then have to take one risedronate tablet one day week to make calcium go to bones.

    The thought of having to take steroids appalled me but along with a load of other medications I am at least mobile thou can't work.

  • Rowbirdie
    Rowbirdie amykuhl1977

    Posted

    You will get a variety of responses on  this!

    i will give you my story. I was given 20 mg to taper down and stop over 4 weeks. It made a huge difference to the pain. It s prescribed to help while waiting for dmard like methotrexate to work. As that dmard didn't work for me I had to go back up to 10 mg or would have been in flare all the time. So I ve been on 7 and half mg ( considered a low dose)tapering down over last 18 months and now on 1 mg and about to stop as rheumy has found meds that work for me.

    yes- side effects were it made me emotional- a bit teary, anxious, irritable. Became a joke In my house to blame the tablets! But no weight gain at this lower dose. 

    It got me through a very bad patch when nothing seemed to be working so I m grateful for them  but glad to be finishing with them too. They are 

    NEVER a treatment for RA- they just hold the symptoms at bay while the dmard( s) that work for you are found. 

    Ps  you have probably been prescribed a short course of prednisolone which will be easy to get off at the end.

     

  • gemma83759
    gemma83759 amykuhl1977

    Posted

    Hi I'm with 4Rowbirdie on this. Last October I had the worst flare up on my life, I couldn't control the pain, my shoulders, jaw, elbows, wrists. I was function less , I was on morphine but even that didn't really help. Doc introduced 20mg prednisone and it was my life saver, within a week I could function again. I wouldn't say this was a high dose. I was waiting on starting a biologic so was kept on this dose for 6 weeks. After starting biologic I kept on this dose till doc started tapering down. Once biologic started kicking in I could taper morphine and stop pred altogether. I would advise anyone with out of control ra pain to try pred, in my opinion it's a life saver and short time use is acceptable. If you feel like ur painkillers or dmard is not enough and ur struggling try pred, let us know how you get on. Gemma.
  • Light
    Light amykuhl1977

    Posted

    Prednisolone is a life saver but it is also a very heavy drug. If RA has been diagnsed preds is not normally the drug of choice for first timers unless your pain or your disease progression is severe.

    But you don't really give enough info to say much more.

    The important thing to be aware of is that as it's a heavy drug, it should only be taken when necssary and be tapered of slowly when coming off with carefully monitored reductions.

    The other thing is that every one reacts differently to it. Some hate it, others swear by it. I've been on it in varying doses for ten years with (so far!) no obvious side effects and currently take a very low 'maintenance' dose of 2.5mg a day.

  • Guest
    Guest amykuhl1977

    Posted

    I'd like to ask everyone just exactly what do you go through when coming off prednisone? Everyone says it's horrible so what do you go through?
    • vickiann49
      vickiann49 Guest

      Posted

      I was wondering that to. Now I am a little scared.
  • amykuhl1977
    amykuhl1977

    Posted

    You guys have me thinking the same thing. My RA is early stage. Im not sure I want to even take it now.
    • Rowbirdie
      Rowbirdie amykuhl1977

      Posted

       i re -read the posts and didn't think people said it was horrible coming off- but difficult if you ve been on it a long time as it has to be tapered in small doses. If the amount is reduced too quickly things can flare up again and you are frustratingly back at square 1.

      This doesn't happen with a controlled short taper, only if you are on it for a long while for whatever reason. Drs themselves only want you to be taking pred at the lowest dose/ shortest time to do the job.

      if your pain / inflammation is bad- take it! Only Tony on this page found it didn't help at all.You will have been prescribed a short course anyway. I hope you have been prescribed another medication as well to hold back the disease. Don't be put off . You can try it and see if you benefit- but don't suddenly stop. Follow the taper your dr prescribes.

    • Light
      Light amykuhl1977

      Posted

      How long did your rheumy say you should take it? It might be just a short 2-week dose in which case it'll be a blessing.

      If you're not in terrible pain, trying going back to your rheumy or your GP and asking for one of the milder drugs as a starter, such as placquenil or sulfazadine (?sp?).

      He/she may have good reasons for putting you on preds or he/she may just be acting lazy. So take charge of your situation, inform yourself and then go back and ask questions. Take someone with you if possible.

      If you are going on a long course of preds – and this is for everyone of course – there are supplements you can take to alleviate the long term toxic effects of the drugs. So it's worth forking out for a good nutritionist to advise you.

    • amykuhl1977
      amykuhl1977 Light

      Posted

      Light, thank you for the advice. She didnt day how long. But wants me on it for 2 weeks before I see her. I've never been one to willing take perscription drugs, and cannot even take most pain meds because they make me sick. Sounds like I'm needing to have a more indepth conversation on my treatment expectations.
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